Your Guide to Cleaning and Housekeeping - Your Practical Guide

YOUR GUIDE TO CLEANINGAND HOUSEKEEPINGYour Practical Guide

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WELCOME TO AXA

Introducing AXA

One of the world’s largest insurersWith more than 50 million customers across the globe, AXA is one of the world’slargest financial services providers. We have a presence in over 50 countries,yet we pride ourselves on having a real understanding of local issues.

Care, advice & support – when you need itAs one of the world leaders in financial protection and wealth management, weoffer a wide range of insurance and financial products to meet your businessand personal needs. Our commitment is to deliver our products with consistentcare, advice and support as and when you need it.

We employ 117,000 people worldwide, and are also one of the thirty largestcompanies of any kind (Fortune magazine’s Global 500 for 2003)

AXA provides products that help people to get the best out of life. Our productsand services include: Business Insurance, Home and Motor Insurance,Investments, Life Assurance, Retirement Planning, Long Term Care, AssetManagement, Medical Insurance and Dental Payment Plans.

AXA Insurance UK plc is authorised and regulated by the Financial ServicesAuthority. This can be checked on the FSA’s website at www.fsa.gov.uk/registeror by contacting them on 0845 606 1234.


Cleaning and Housekeeping CONTENTS

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Contents

• Introduction 4

• Cleaning Schedules and Plans 5

• Hazardous Substances 6

• Risk Assessment 7

• Safe Use of Cleaning Preparations 8

• Good Housekeeping Standards 9

• Maintaining Standards 10

• Basic Checklist for Good Housekeeping 11

The information contained within this document is intended as a general guide only and is not

necessarily comprehensive. You should seek appropriate professional advice when devising

any risk assessment or management programme. AXA Insurance will not be liable for loss or

damages arising, in contract, tort or otherwise, directly or indirectly from the use of or reliance

upon any information contained in this document.


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INTRODUCTION Cleaning and Housekeeping

Introduction

The terms cleaning and good housekeeping are closely linked buthave different meanings. Cleaning is broadly defined as the ‘removaland proper disposal of dirt and debris’, while housekeeping is‘keeping a place for everything and everything in its place’.

Satisfactory levels of workplace cleanliness and housekeeping have been takeninto account by the law for many years. The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act(HSWA) requires employers to ensure the health and safety of all employees andanyone who may be affected by their work, and to maintain the workplaceand/or premises in a safe condition, which includes adequate cleaning andhousekeeping arrangements.

Whilst the actual word ‘housekeeping’ may not appear in the Act, the HSWAimposes a duty to ensure that workplaces and/or premises are maintained in asafe fashion and that access and egress are also safe. Untidiness increases the riskof accidents, and a workplace that is untidy is unlikely to comply with therequirements of the HSWA and other Regulations which apply.

Where a workplace is dirty, or is untidy with spillages, or debris, and whereequipment has been left where it was last used, a number of hazards exist,leading to the risk of accidents. The most common workplace injuries are theresult of slips, trips and falls, together with the secondary effects of damagedequipment and the deterioration of the fabric of the building.

In addition, most workplace activities generate waste or use liquids that willincrease the risk of accidents if they are not adequately controlled.

The Workplace (Health and Safety and Welfare) Regulations require floors to besuitable, in good condition and free from obstruction, and that the premises,workplace and inherent furniture, furnishings and fittings must be kept sufficiently clean.

You should not allow waste materials to accumulate in workplaces, except whenkept in suitable receptacles.

It is accepted that the standards of cleaning will vary and depend on the use ofthe workplace, and in some types of premises it may be necessary to produceand operate a schedule detailing cleaning methods and frequency.

You also need to ensure that the cleaning methods used don’t create any additional health and safety risks – for example dust, fumes, and slippery surfaces.


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Cleaning and Housekeeping CLEANING SCHEDULES

Cleaning Schedules and Plans

Random unplanned action is hardly ever acceptable wherecleaning is concerned – it is best carried out by means of aschedule or plan, based on a careful and systematic survey of thepremises. Regular inspections are essential to ensure the planworks effectively.

A typical schedule would cover:

• what needs to be cleaned: premises, areas, rooms, surfaces, plant and equipment

• extent and degree of contamination

• standards and frequency of cleaning

• methods of cleaning; wet, dry, vacuum, etc

• materials used for cleaning

• people responsible for meeting and maintaining the set standards

• system of inspection to monitor the work

• the precautions necessary, particularly when using chemical-based cleaning agents

• a review process – to allow for changing needs or standards

• identification of the management who have ultimate responsibility forcleaning and who co-ordinate the agreed system(s).


HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES Cleaning and Housekeeping

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Hazardous Substances

The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH)Regulations require that all hazardous substances must beidentified – including those stored, handled, transported or used.Identification must include substances purchased as cleaningagents or for maintenance purposes as well as those produced asby-products or waste.

For further guidance on hazardous substances, see AXA’s Health and SafetyInformation Sheet.


Cleaning and Housekeeping RISK ASSESSMENT

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Risk Assessment

The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations buildon the HSWA and include duties on employers to assess risks and,where necessary, take action to safeguard health and safety.

Risk assessments should be used to identify the hazards in all areas of theworkplace and/or premises; this includes places of work as well as the means ofaccess and egress. Routine thorough and systematic inspections should be usedto monitor health and safety precautions.

These should ensure effective action is taken to deal with the immediateproblems and minimise the risks of accidents. The assessments should also beused to determine the standard and frequency of cleaning.

For further guidance on risk assessment, see AXA’s Health and Safety Information Sheet.


CLEANING PREPARATIONS Cleaning and Housekeeping

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Safe Use of Cleaning Preparations

Great care must be taken when considering the type of cleaningpreparations that are be used, as these could include:

• acids – to remove hard-water scale

• alkalis – to break down and remove fat, grease and carbon

• detergents or ‘wetting agents’ – for cleaning contaminated equipment

• solvents – to soften fats, grease and oils

• disinfectants – to kill harmful organisms

Cleanliness is directly concerned with the protection of premises, plant and theworkforce from the effects of preventable accidents. Poor hygiene standards canlead to occupational ill-health and other adverse conditions connected with thework environment.

Your business will profit from improved hygiene and cleaning standards in theworkplace because a reduction in the incidence of occupational illness willdirectly reflect in a reduction of workforce absence-related costs.

And it’s not just your business that will benefit from applying a properly plannedsystem for the safe use of cleaning preparations – your people will too.


Cleaning and Housekeeping GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

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Good Housekeeping Standards

Keeping the workplace tidy minimises the risk of accidents. Youshould ensure things are put away after use, especially at the endof the day or work period. When a regime of tidiness isn’t applied,a casual attitude soon develops amongst the workforce.

Examples include:

• discarded boxes, cartons, packing materials and personal protective equipment

• poor storage of equipment, furniture, products and materials

• substances left out after use

• work surfaces littered with discarded tools

• thoughtlessly parked mobile plant or vehicles

It is easier not to put items away after use in the hope someone else will, but thisdefeats the objective of a clean, tidy workplace. Good housekeeping calls for acombination of self-discipline, organised storage, effective supervision, propermanagement and training to develop the right attitude. Housekeeping andcleaning are an essential part of accident and occupational ill-health prevention.

Hazardous substances in particular demand good housekeeping standards, andcertain basic rules should apply, such as:

• planned systematic storage

• exclusion of food, drink and smoking from work areas

• clear and accurate labelling of containers

• issue of formal written procedures to all staff involved

• adequate and effective training.


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MAINTAINING STANDARDS Cleaning and Housekeeping

Maintaining Standards

To maintain satisfactory standards and make a significantcontribution towards reducing the risk of accidents andoccupational ill-health, you need to plan an effective managementsystem for cleaning and good housekeeping.

To achieve this you should

• examine each section of the workplace

• identify problems

• allow for prompt and effective action, and then

• follow it up to ensure all action has actually been taken.

Routine inspections should be based on a checklist (see the example on the nextpage) so each aspect or potential hazard is covered in an orderly, systematic way.

Of course good housekeeping is common sense, but you can’t depend oneveryone always behaving sensibly, so regular, planned, systematic checks of theworkplace are essential.


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Basic Checklist for Good Housekeeping

• Are all floor areas free of liquids (e.g. water, oil,) or solids Yes Nowhich could easily cause people to slip?

• Is there a procedure for reporting spillages and leakages, Yes Noand attending to them speedily?

• Does your Health & Safety Policy clearly set out who is Yes Noaccountable and responsible for good housekeeping?

• Do you actively promote and publicise good Yes Nohousekeeping? (E.g. by effective supervision, or posters,or good housekeeping competitions)

• Are materials and substances suitably stored and not Yes Noliable to constitute a hazard?

• Are waste or surplus materials and substances returned Yes Noto a designated storage area or placed in a waste bin/skip?

• Are designated pedestrian walkways kept clear? Yes No

• Are trailing leads from portable electrical equipment Yes No(office machinery, portable power tools etc.) tied away and not liable to constitute a hazard?

• Is there adequate lighting so that people can safely Yes Nomake their way through the premises? (This is particularly important on staircases)

• Is there a procedure for reporting and replacing Yes Nodefective light fittings, blown bulbs/tubes etc.?

• Is there adequate artificial lighting for outdoor Yes Nopedestrian routes during the hours of darkness?

Cleaning and Housekeeping BASIC CHECKLIST


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Your Guide to Cleaning and Housekeeping - Your Practical Guide